Goal setting process is 1st step of
strategic thinking, yet very few people do it. Even if, they set goals, they do it in hasty manner and do not give much thought to the process. I am writing this post as a reminder for myself and also as a mental tool for future. According to the article posted in
Psychology Today, setting goals has several of benefits to people who engage in this activity such as increasing productivity, becoming more frugal etc., here is the
link to the article if you want to read it.
Brainstorm. What goals you want to reach? Do you have a list of goals? If not, then start to think about such a list. To ease this process, think about what is important to you in life. In one or another way, all people have similar list of things that are important for them in life. Here are few things that seem to me as important in life.
Health. Good health is indispensable value. Without it, you cannot do anything. Even if you can do something, you will pay little attention to that activity, since all your attention will be tied to ailment or disease you have. For this reason, consider your current health condition and pay attention event slightest symptoms of health problems. Have a medical check up and make sure you have good health for pursuing your goals and enjoying life. In order to maintain good health, eat healthy and nutritious food, do workouts, sleep enough and maintain good hygiene.
Family and Friends. Do you think about your family and friends on frequent basis? Do you spend enough time with them and say things you want to say to them? I often (always) cannot say everything what I think and feel about them. It is really important to spend more time with them, listen to them and be in the moment with them.
Dreams and Fun. Having fun time and making effort to reach dreams are essential for contentment and happy life. Without dreams and exciting activities, life becomes boring and senseless. I try to spare time for having fun with friends. Set and protect fun time from other activities. Have fun time and pursue your dreams.
Work and Money. I wish I could enough money. I think all people wish they could have enough money for pursuing their dreams and goals. Hard labor and earning money are part of life. Without them, we will not value what we have, thus working is good for us. However, everybody wants to make more money. For this to happen, one needs to think about it. One needs to consider various options and choose the best choice of work with highest benefits. Ideal case is to have work or business that could give you life you want, but that requires thinking and working for long time.
Self-improvement. Learning new things, mastering skills and professional growth are also important for happy life. I always feel like that I am not spending enough time on self-improvement. Try to read books, learn new things and write every day. If we want to reach dreams and goals in life, study and training should be part of our daily life.
Afterlife. This last point may not be much important to you right now. However, think about a time when you will be gone. In your absence, what kind of life will be living yourfamily, friends and community in general. Will you leave a good name and legacy, will you leave this world a little bit better after yourself? Death is unpredictable and may come at any time and especially when you expect it least. No one is guaranteed to live till certain age. Thus think about afterlife situation in short and long terms. At this point, this idea of death reminded me the inspiring speech of Steve Jobs in Stanford University in 2005.
Write down your 1st draft. After considering and finding what is important to you in life, write down 1st draft of your goals. Brainstorm and list all goals that you want to reach. Just having a list of goals in your mind is not a good idea, you easily forget them after passage of few weeks. Written goals are much better than ideas in your mind.
Choose life changing goals. After coming up with a list of goals, review them and ask yourself which of these goals will have the biggest impact to your life if you reach them. Choose the most promising 3-5 goals, not more. Pursuit of too many goals will leave you with nothing attained. Can the goals you have chosen make a really big change in your life? Are you really motivated to pursue these goals? Think about how much time is required for reaching the goals you have selected. If a goal takes more than 1 year to reach, then divide it into sub-goals and chose 1st stepping goal from the group. So far you should have few goals with time limits that can make real changes in your life. If you do, then go to next paragraph.
Simplify your goals. Make your goals as simple as possible. Ask yourself the following questions: Are you complicating your goals more than they need to be? Are you making them harder than they need to be? How they would look like in their simplest forms? I learned about this idea of simplifying goals from
Tim Ferriss interview on
30 days of Genius video-cast. Ask these questions and get rid of useless fluff and focus on what you really want to reach. Review, simplify and rewrite your goals with above given questions in mind. Cut all secondary details of your goals and keep only what is really necessary.
Every day review your goals and take actions. After formulating, selecting, simplifying and writing down your goals, review them every day. Make it a routine to review them. Ask yourself what you can do now, today, this week or month to reach these goals. What actions can you take to come closer to reaching your set goals? Every day take actions, analyze your results and be consistent. With routine and consistence, you will reach your goals. I often forget to review goals, but once they come to my mind, I review them and think about what I have done to reach them.
